Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentorship of GSIs: Spring 2009 Nominations

The Graduate Council’s Advisory Committee for GSI Affairs and the Graduate Division’s GSI Teaching and Resource Center are pleased to announce the 2009 Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentorship of GSIs. This award recognizes faculty (including both Senate and non-Senate faculty) who have provided GSIs outstanding mentorship in their teaching at Berkeley and in preparation for their future teaching careers.

Types of Awards

Up to three awards will be given. Awards will typically be presented to faculty members mentoring GSIs in multi-section courses, in stand-alone courses (e.g., foreign language or reading and composition courses), or through the teaching of a 300-level course. In those cases in which a faculty member is nominated for an outstanding 300-level course, nominations will be accepted from students who have taken the course.

Nomination Process and Criteria

Nominations are sought from current and former GSIs. Only electronic submissions will be accepted.

GSIs may nominate a faculty member for this award by submitting the electronic cover sheet and an attached letter (maximum of two, single-spaced pages or 1200 words) describing the mentoring contributions made by the faculty member. The nomination letters should give a rationale for why the faculty member should receive the award and should address:

• how the faculty member has contributed to the development of skills needed by GSIs to teach effectively at Berkeley and in future careers (please give specific examples);
• the overall quality of the faculty member’s mentorship of GSIs, i.e., what it is about this faculty member that makes her/him such a good mentor of GSIs.

In determining award recipients, the committee may also consider the following:

• articulation of GSI roles and responsibilities;
• quality and frequency of meetings with GSIs;
• discussion of pedagogical issues and ways to teach specific topics;
• feedback to GSIs on their teaching (e.g., classroom observation, review of mid-semester evaluations);
• promotion of critical thinking as related to teaching;
• incorporation of GSI input on essay topics, exam questions, lectures, etc.;
• development of knowledge needed by instructors to foster student welfare and an ethical educational environment;
• the quality of the 300-level course for which a faculty member has been nominated.

The Graduate Council’s Advisory Committee for GSI Affairs will review the nominations and select the recipients of the award. Each faculty member selected by the Committee will be asked to submit a one- to two-page statement describing his or her mentoring philosophy and the steps he or she has taken to mentor GSIs.

Essays describing the recipients’ mentoring philosophies and, when applicable, award-winning 300-level course syllabi will be published on the GSI Teaching and Resource Center’s Web site. Recipients of the award will be honored at an award ceremony in May.

Application Guidelines

• Nominations should come directly from GSIs and must be submitted electronically.
• Letters of support from departmental chairs may be submitted. Chairs’ letters should be sent by email to gsi@berkeley.edu.
• GSIs can submit nominations either individually or jointly with other GSIs who have been mentored by the faculty member. Please note, when submitting a nomination letter jointly with other GSIs, each GSI’s name must appear on the letter and each GSI must submit his or her own electronic cover sheet.
• Nomination letters must be a maximum of 1200 words.
• Deadline for nomination letters to be received is March 6, 2009.
• Late submissions will not be considered.

All nomination letters and cover sheets must be submitted electronically. Support letters from chairs should be sent by email to the GSI Teaching & Resource Center.